With summer weather finally arriving on the ol' dusty plains here in Alberta, a lot of folks thoughts are probably turning to backyard barbecues and water parks and picnics and pin wheels and county fairs and whatever else folks associate with summer vacation.

Not us here at the Nation though. Our hearts and minds stay rooted at the rink - or, as it were, in spreadsheets, internet squabbles over player contracts and twitter flame wars.

This week, Lowetide snubbed the the inviting sun and instead talked contracts, drafts and free agency with a gaggle of guests including Jason Strudwick, Andrey Osadchenko and Jonathan Willis.

The collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA is slated to expire on September 15, 2012. The league and players’ association have until then to negotiate the details on a new agreement, or else the possibility exists that the 2012-13 season will not begin on time. How are things looking so far?

Last Sunday we boarded an "aeroplane" and headed off to nerd summer camp in San Francisco. And because we basically use the Nations as a diary and because Kent hasn't figured out how to override our author clearance on the site you are about to hear all about it.

Nail Yakupov is only a few weeks into his career with the Edmonton Oilers, but already he has impressed with his performance at the team’s summer development camp. OilersNation’s Andrey Osadchenko caught up with Yakupov there.